Fig. 4

Effect of citrate-covered gold nanoparticles (cit-AuNP) on ICAM-1 and L-selectin in circulating polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocytes. Twenty nanometers cit-AuNP or saline was injected intravenously (IV) 2 h after induction of sepsis or the sham-operated procedure in mice. a Representative flow cytometry graphs of ICAM-1 (upper part) and L-selectin (lower panel) expressions in PMN leukocytes of mice with sepsis or sham-operated previously treated with 20 nm cit-AuNP or saline. b Quantification of the ICAM-1 expression in PMN leukocytes of mice with sepsis or sham-operated previously treated with 20 nm cit-AuNP or saline. c Quantification of the L-selectin expression in PMN leukocytes of mice with sepsis or sham-operated previously treated with 20 nm cit-AuNP or saline. Enhanced ICAM-1, but not L-selectin, expression was quantified in PMN leukocytes 6 h after induction of sepsis, and cit-AuNP treatment reduced it. * P < 0.05 vs. negative control (NC); ^# P < 0.05 vs. Sham + saline; ^& P < 0.05 vs. Sepsis + saline. ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test was used for comparison among groups. Seven to ten animals per group were used. a. u., arbitrary units